The Insurgent
by Marie Hawkins
Summary: Mackenzie Reynolds hasn't been in touch with her brother since before the war. She only knows his whereabouts because she has befriended Inara. Now she must ask her brother to help her escape Alliance punishment. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

"The Alliance is not pleased, Mackenzie," Inara said. I kicked at some gravel and sighed. I had made her promise not to tell my brother she'd been in touch with me, so she took initiative and decided to act like my mother.

"I know, but I can't really help it. It runs in my blood," I smirked. Annoying the hell out of Alliance was one of the things my brother and I did best.

"You know they've put a warrant out for you. You're wanted. You can't stay in one place for too long. Why won't you just come with us?" She asked. I sighed.

"You know why," I said. "Mal will kill me. I haven't kept in touch with him since before the war, and I was eight then. He promised to take care of me, and I haven't really let him."

"So let him now. I mean, sure he's an arrogant pain, but when it comes down to it, he's really handy to have around. We're headed to Persephone after this, so if you don't like it on _Serenity_ you can get off there. I won't bug you about it anymore, I promise," she pleaded. I could never say no to Inara.

"Fine," I grumbled. We walked through the busy streets in silence. I kept my head down, in case there were any Alliance scouts looking for me. I felt bad for ignoring Mal for all these years, but I had to prove to myself I wasn't dependent. Why should a woman need to prove that? Well, I _was_ raised by Malcolm Reynolds.

When we entered the ship, it was mostly deserted. Inara led me into the kitchen. She pulled out a chair for me to sit in.

"Sit here. Mal should be back soon. He's finishing a job," she said. "I'll go see who else is on board." She left.

I sat awkwardly by myself in the kitchen for several minutes. I heard footsteps and looked up. A black haired girl only a few years younger than I, poked her head around the corner and looked at me curiously. She walked tentatively toward the table and sat, studying my face.

"You're worried," she said at last. "You don't need to be worried. Everything will be fine." I didn't know what she meant by that. There were more footsteps, and by the sound of it, their owner was running. A tall, familiar looking, brown haired boy ran into the kitchen and up to the girl.

"River," he said. "You shouldn't be running off like that." He was slightly out of breath. The girl, River, never took her eyes off of me as he spoke.

"I felt it, Simon. She's here," she said. Simon looked up at me, as if noticing me for the first time. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Passenger?" he asked.

"Yeah, you could say that," I laughed. There were more footsteps and Inara walked in followed by Mal and the other members of his crew whom I'd only heard of. I stood and sighed. I hated confrontations. I looked at Mal for several minutes, and he returned my gaze. He hadn't changed much, just aged. He still had the same attitude about him, the same commanding presence, and the same desire to come across as scarier than he actually was.

"You got old," I said lamely. I expected him to shoot back some rude remark, but instead the corner of his mouth twitched and turned into a smile.

"Mack," he said, holding his arms outstretched. He pulled me into one of those smothering hugs that I hadn't received from him since I was a kid. "You've gotten taller," he observed. He released me and turned to his crew. "I see you've already met the Tams."

"Tam…" I thought. "The ones that the Alliance want?" I asked. He nodded. I realized why they looked so familiar.

"Inara informed me that you two know each other quite well. You'll have to explain that to me later. This is Wash, our pilot," he gestured to a blond man with an amused smile on his face. He saluted to me. "Zoe, who you might remember," It was true. I hadn't seen Zoe for as long as I hadn't seen my brother, but she hadn't changed much either. "Kaylee, our engineer," a spunky young girl smiled at me. "Shepherd Book, our 'spiritual leader'," and elderly black man nodded in greeting. "And this is Jayne." He pointed to a tall, muscular, gruff looking man who only grunted in return. He then addressed his crew, "This is my sister, Mack. She is going to be traveling with us to Persephone." He turned back to me again. "We need to talk. The rest of you let's get this heap off the ground."

We walked out of the kitchen and into the cargo bay. I sat on some crates left in the middle of the platform. Mal paced a little and then leaned against the stairs.

"It's been a long time," he said finally. "I didn't think you survived the war." He studied my face intently.

"I know I should have kept in touch," I said. "But that wasn't exactly practical. I had no way to reach you, so I figured it would be best if I went off the charts. Besides you would have worried too much."

"I'm worried now," he said. "You're only twenty and you're on the Alliance's most wanted list." I laughed a little. Mal's seriousness was awkward for me.

"I think you're just jealous I got on there before you," I said. "Besides, I'm fine. You'll let me stay, then?" I was hopeful. If I was allowed to stay with Mal, things would be so much easier for the both of us.

"You can stay," he nodded. "I'm sure you'll be useful. Just do me a favor," he said.

"Anything," I said relieved that he wasn't mad at me.

"Don't ever disappear like that again," he said and walked up the stairs and to the cockpit. I smiled to myself. He was still afraid to admit that he cared about me. Typical.


	2. Chapter 2

I wandered around the ship aimlessly for the next few minutes, since I didn't really have anything to do yet. I was on my way to the cockpit when I bumped into Simon Tam.

"Sorry," I apologized quickly.

"It's alright," he said, calmly. "I want to apologize if River startled you. She just-"

"I know about River," I said, trying to spare him a difficult explanation. "It's okay. It takes a little more than a seventeen year old girl to scare me." I laughed a little. Simon was still tense, but smiled.

"I'll see you around, Tam," I said, squeezing past. I went and sat in the co-pilot's chair. I was silent, looking out at the stars for several seconds.

"You know how to fly?" I looked over at the pilot's chair. Wash was addressing me. My eyes flicked to the control panel.

"I've never flown a Firefly before, but I can fly smaller ships pretty easily." I said, looking back up at him.

"Do you want to try? Mal will probably kill me, but he's not here right now," Wash smiled. I laughed. "Go ahead; let's see what you can do." I put my hands on the steering column, and slightly turned while increasing the speed. The ship lurched forward more quickly than I had anticipated. I let go of the controls and we were jerked back.

"WASH!" Mal yelled. He was coming up the stairs to the cockpit. He had a red mark on the side of his face where he must have hit a wall during the lurch. He saw me in the co-pilot's chair. "Was Mack just flying the ship?" he asked.

Wash nodded. Mal rolled his eyes. "Well that was a dandy idea wasn't it?"

"Don't kill me," Wash said under his breath, only slightly joking. Mal raised an eyebrow.

"Wash," he said. "If I wanted to kill you I'd just tell Mack to fly from now on. Mack, c'mon, I've got a job for you." I stood, and waved good-bye to Wash.

"We'll do it again sometime," Wash joked as I left the cockpit. I smiled to myself. I joined Mal at the bottom of the stairs.

"Where in the hell did you learn how to fly, _mei mei_? 'Cause it sure wasn't from me," he joked. I laughed. I was glad to see the tension between us melting.

"So, what's my job?" I asked him, eager to help out. Mal sighed.

"Come this way," he said leading me along. "I'm not really sure you'll like this job. Wait here." I stood by the infirmary, and Mal walked to one of the rooms and knocked on the door. I looked in the window of the infirmary. Both Simon and River were in there. River was asleep, and Simon was reading. He looked up and saw me. I looked away as quickly as possible.

Mal came back scratching his head. "Where does that damn Shepherd disappear to?" Simon poked his head out of the infirmary door.

"What's going on?" he asked. Mal shook his head.

"Shepherd was gonna help Mack with her new job, but I don't know where he is."

"Well," Simon said. "If she needs a job I'm sure I can-"

"Hold up, fancy pants. Don't get excited." We all turned at the sound of the voice. It was Jayne. "Mal, Shepherd is in the cockpit, Wash found something interesting you should see. As for Mack, Shepherd asked me to help her." Mal looked from Jayne to me and then back again and sighed.

"Watch yourself Jayne," Mal said, and walked off. Simon gave me a look that I interpreted to mean "good luck" and retreated into the infirmary.

"Watch myself? What the hell kinda comment is that? What, does he think I'm three?" Jayne muttered to himself. I couldn't help but laugh silently. Jayne heard me and grunted, "Yeah, I bet you're just like your brother." I ignored him.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"We're going to clean my weapons. They're important. They're what keep the people around here looking pretty." Jayne stopped in a room that was full of guns. "Here we are. You know how to clean a gun I reckon?"

"Of course," I said, admiring his collection. My eyes fell on one of the best guns he had. I reached for it. "You have one of these?" I asked him. He looked up from the gun he started cleaning.

"Oh yeah," he said looking at it fondly. "I call her Vera." I laughed.

"Do you name all your guns?" I asked.

"Ha ha ha. No," he said slightly annoyed. "Just the special ones. And when you get a weapon that pretty, then you can laugh. You don't even got a gun, do you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding? I had to use something to get on the Alliance's wanted list," I said. I pulled out my gun from its holster and set it on the table. Jayne looked at it in admiration.

"A re-mastered Colt?" he whispered.

"I know, it's not as good as Vera," I laughed. Jayne picked up my gun and practically cradled it.

"They only remade three of these for Alliance ministers. How did you get this?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Killed an Alliance minister," I said. Jayne's jaw dropped.

"So _that's_ why they want to catch you so damn bad," he said.

"That and other reasons," I said. I finished cleaning Vera and put her down on the table. Zoe walked in the room. Her face looked grim.

"I got some bad news," she said. "We've run into a squadron of Alliance ships. They will probably board us. That means you need to hide _now_."

Great. Just the way I wanted to spend my first day on _Serenity_. Hiding.


	3. Chapter 3

"Your best option is to hide in Inara's ship. Most Alliance crews don't search there," Zoe said. "You're gonna have company," she said.

"The Tams," I said. "That's fine." Zoe went off to go tell Simon and River they needed to hide.

On my way to Inara's I ran into Mal. He had a worried look on his face that I had never seen before. He put his hand on my shoulder.

"You just be careful, okay?" he said. "Hopefully we'll convince 'em to leave before they start a search, but just in case, you just keep quiet and calm." I could tell he was worried. I nodded.

"I'll be fine," I assured him. His expression still looked grim.

"Let's hope so," he said, and walked quickly away, calling Jayne's name. His words didn't really give me much comfort, which probably wasn't the best for my nerves.

Simon appeared, leading River along quickly. She was laughing, but his expression was serious. He looked at me. I tried to give him a reassuring smile, but I'm not really sure he interpreted it that way. We quickly clambered up the steps to Inara's ship, and got inside.

Simon took River's face in his hands. "Okay,_ mei mei_," he said quietly. "We have to be very quiet." River nodded.

"I know, Simon. They want us to see. But we won't. Not for them." Simon sighed, frustrated. We sat in a silent circle, and listened to the rhythmic noises of the ship. We heard the Alliance board, and raised voices. I slowly stood.

Quick footsteps were approaching. I listened closely. I heard Inara arguing with an Alliance crew member.

"-can't enter here," she said, firmly. There was a bit of rustling, and a gruff voice replied.

"I have the authority to search wherever I want. I have special business to finish with this fugitive," he said. That was a voice I would never forget. That voice was the voice of a traitor. He was the reason I was on the run. River seemed to recognize it. She quickly put her hands up to her ears and rocked back and forth. Simon put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. He looked up at me. "Did you lock the door?" he mouthed.

The door started to rattle, and I ran to the controls. "No," I said. I quickly hit a series of buttons and moved up some switches. Simon was quickly by my side.

"You didn't lock the door? What-" he began frustrated. I put my hand up to silence him.

"If you're so worried about the _gorram_ door, go lock it yourself. I'm trying to get us out of here!" We were in a dangerous situation. The door had stopped rattling, which meant we had some time. I pulled us away from _Serenity_ as fast as I could. Operating the small shuttle was fairly easy.

As soon as we were a good ways away from _Serenity_, I let out a relived sigh. We didn't have enough gas to get anywhere, except the planet we had just come from. I hoped the shuttle could handle the trip. I turned to face River and Simon. Simon didn't appear to be too happy. River looked at us intently, a curious expression on her face.

"Mackenzie," Simon began. River grabbed his wrist.

"No fighting," She whispered. "They will see us."

"Look," I said. "I'm sorry for snapping. I was just trying to get us out of there. I don't want to get caught." Simon hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"Thank you," he said finally. "I don't want to get caught either. Not after… all this."

"After what?" I asked. He sighed and sat in the co-pilot's chair.

"It's just, River has come so far since being in the hands of the Alliance. I would hate to lose all that progress. Your brother," he paused and laughed a little. "I can't believe I'm actually saying this. River and I owe him so much. I gave up _everything_ for her. Not that I regret it for a single moment, I just- well- your brother makes sure it wasn't in vain."

"He doesn't come across as that kind of a person, huh?" I asked, laughing a little to myself. "I've missed him," I admitted.

"What happened between you two?" he asked. I sighed. I had never really talked about this with anyone. "If you don't want to-"

"It's fine. I should probably get this off my chest anyway," I said. "Mal and I were inseparable. I only have memories of him, since my parents died shortly after I was born. He took care of me until the war. He volunteered and saw the war as a way to protect me I was only eight when Mal was deployed. I was left in the care of one of my father's friends. I stayed there for six years, but then I left. The war was long over by then, but I'd had no contact from Mal."

"Reconstruction after the war took a long time," Simon interjected. I nodded.

"I thought he was…dead. It was the worst feeling in the world. So I ran. I met Dax Shrever, the captain I flew with for three years. I joined his crew, quickly learned, made friends and enemies, and hoped, as I flew around the 'verse, that I'd find Mal. I never did. I got what satisfaction I could from stealing from the Alliance.

"When I was sixteen, we were in a particularly dangerous position. We were middle-men for this job that involved helping an Alliance prisoner escape. I was supposed to pretend to be an Alliance friendly. The Alliance minister took a liking to me, despite the fact that I was a Reynolds. One of our crew members, the Alliance captain trying to get in here, was feeding the Alliance information. Long story short, I was caught, and held for three months. To get out, I killed my captor; the Alliance minister. It took the Alliance three years to figure out I was the killer and issue a warrant. When I was eighteen, I left Dax and his crew, and went on my own. I got several jobs and was able to support myself. On one of my first jobs, I met Inara and learned that my brother was alive. I was afraid to find him. He would be upset that I ran away and got involved with Alliance opposition. I kept in contact with Inara for these past two years. I came back to Mal, glad he welcomed me, though no doubt I have put the crew in greater danger. Obviously, I have," I said, taking a deep breath. "Just my luck. I have come all this way to find Mal only to lose him again."

"I'm sure he'll look for us as soon as he can," Simon reassured me. He leaned forward towards me, his elbows resting on his knees. "He wouldn't want to lose you either. You're, well, smart, brave," he sighed. "Everything that Mal looks for in a crew member." His voice was soft and reassuring. He meant what he said.

Without intending to, our lips met. It was sweet, but short. I broke away. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I- I'm sorry," I stammered. "I didn't mean-"

"Me neither," he said quickly, standing. "I, uh, I should look for River," he said, and walked off. I didn't have much time to sit and wonder why we kissed because we were ready to land. I navigated us to a seemingly uninhabited area, densely forested, and began the descent.

The landing happened quickly, it was bumpy, but successful. I stood, and Simon re-entered with River. I unlocked the door, and we stepped into the sunlight. My assumption was incorrect, the area was indeed inhabited. The locals were waiting for us as soon as we stepped off. They were armed, and didn't look like they were about to put their weapons down. My hand twitched towards my holster, but it was empty. I had left my Colt on _Serenity_. Simon looked at me, and put his hands up slowly. I followed suit. River stood still, but the villagers didn't seem to be worried about her.

One of the villagers spoke up. "Who are you?" he asked. "And why did you find it so _gorram_ important to trespass?"

"We're friends," I said slowly, trying to appear calm. The villagers didn't seem to believe me, and some even armed their weapons.

"Wait," said a voice that was quite familiar. "Don't shoot yet." A tall, lean, black haired figure was pushing his way up to the front. He looked at River and then Simon. When his eyes rested on me, I was relieved. I remembered this man only too well. He looked different since I had last seen him. His hair was longer now, pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck, he had a scar running from his temple to his jaw, and was a little taller.

Dax?" I asked. "Is that you?" The man broke into a grin. He signaled to the others and they put their weapons down. "How in the hell did you wind up here?" I asked him.

"Long story," he laughed. He motioned for us to follow and led us deeper into the heart of the woods. We were safe. For now.


	4. Chapter 4

(Malcolm Reynolds' POV)

"Where is it?" the Alliance crewman asked. He turned to face me, and I saw the empty docking bay that Inara's ship usually occupied. I tried not to sigh with relief. Instead I answered,

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about. But since your men have searched the ship and found neither the Tams nor my sister, you can leave." The Alliance crewman almost smiled. He turned back to his companions. They exited the ship. He turned back to me, gloating. I had to try hard to not punch him in the face.

"I'm afraid I will be accompanying you, Malcolm Reynolds. You are no doubt going to search for your friends. I am coming with you. As I said before, I have unfinished business. Any objections?" he asked, challenging someone to speak up. Before anyone could move, Jayne spoke up.

"Yeah, I object," he said, gruffly. Jayne took his pistol and knocked out the Alliance crewman before he could even turn around. "Prick," he muttered. I looked at Jayne for several seconds, and then smiled.

"Good work." I headed toward my quarters. "When he wakes up, ask him questions. I want to know everything. Wash, head back to where we came from. I have some crew members to find." I left the crew standing there. I stood in the hall outside my door, and sighed. I slammed my fist against the metal.

"Mal?" a voice inquired. I turned. It was Inara. I was glad of her company. "Are you okay?" she put a hand on my shoulder. I was silent for several seconds. Inara's brown eyes were searching my face intently, as if some emotion would give me away.

"I keep losing her," I said finally. "Right when I think that Mackenzie is back and safe, something happens. I haven't seen her for years, and when things start going right again…" I sighed.

"I know she'll be okay," Inara said. "She's really smart." Her worried expression softened. I guess she was happy that I was expressing some form of human emotion. She leaned forward, kissed my cheek, and walked silently away, leaving me with a slightly burning cheek and a still confused mind.

I knew Mack would be fine, but I still worried. What about the Tams? She had to watch out for them too. Three Alliance Wanteds together wouldn't last long, especially ones that the Alliance wanted the most. I wondered how they were getting along. If Mack was anything like me, her patience must be wearing thin by now.

It hit me again that this girl I called my sister was a complete stranger. I knew, remembered, and loved the eight-year-old with the big brown eyes, crooked smile, missing teeth, and carefree attitude. This new Mack, the twenty-year-old with deep brown eyes, a dangerous smile, and a slight temper, seemed like a different person. Had I brought on her change? Perhaps if I hadn't volunteered for the war things would have turned out differently. Not that I hated the woman my sister had become, I just didn't know her. And I felt like the more I tried to, the more I would get pushed away.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear Zoe approaching.

"Captain?" she said. "Jayne needs to talk to you. He's in the infirmary. I'm sure it's to negotiate terms of torture," she smiled a little.

"Wouldn't doubt it," I agreed. "How close are we to landing?" I asked, feeling guilty that I was so impatient. Zoe shrugged.

"Last time I talked to Wash he said we were about seven minutes from reaching atmo." She left me, and walked to the cockpit. I sighed, and walked toward the infirmary. Jayne and the Alliance crewman were inside.

As I entered, Jayne looked up. His face was red with anger, and he was breathing heavily. The Alliance crewman was strapped to Simon's operating chair, his mouth duct-taped. He was sweating, and had a cut on his eyebrow, but was otherwise unharmed.

"What have you got?" I asked Jayne. He seemed slightly frustrated as he replied.

"His name's Eric Shaw. He's a lieutenant. That's all the bugger would say. If I could just-" Jayne began to plead. I shook my head and cut him off.

"We'll have no torture, Jayne. I want him in one piece." Jayne looked at me, as if to ask why in the hell we would want to keep an Alliance member in one piece. If he had asked me the question aloud, I honestly didn't know how I would have answered. For some reason, I felt that Eric Shaw would be important to us later. That is the only thing that was keeping him alive.

"We should be entering atmo soon," I informed Jayne. "You might want to make sure that he's tied down good and tight," I said gesturing to Eric Shaw. I walked through the halls, up to the cockpit. Wash was concentrated actually silent for once. Zoe was standing behind him, one arm on the back of his chair.

"Where will you want to land?" she asked me. I looked out the window.

"Fly around and look for Inara's ship. Land next to it if possible." The planet was densely forested, and my request seemed near impossible, and definitely pointless. There was no way that Mack, Simon, and River would have stayed with or near the ship; though I would have liked to think that they had as much love for _Serenity_ as I did. But then again, I'm pretty sure that's impossible.

Wash circled around for a while, until we spotted it. It had been landed in the middle of a forested area. Wash saw this, and made a landing very close to where the other ship was.

"Okay," I said. "This should be a fairly easy job. Wash, you come with me, Zoe you're in charge while I'm gone." Wash stood quickly, and followed me to the cargo bay.

"So we're just going to walk around and look for Mack, Simon, and River?" he asked. I nodded. I hadn't thought up a brilliant plan or anything, so that would have to do. I lowered the ramp, and the gray sky and bleak sunlight shone into the ship. We walked down the ramp and onto the forest floor.

"What if we walk straight into cannibal territory?" Wash asked. Suddenly, people emerged from the bushes, with their weapons pointed straight at us. Wash and I put out hands up.

"You know, Wash, I think we might've. But there is no way they're as bad as Reavers. At least they'll kill us first." I said. How reassuring.


	5. Chapter 5

"We crash landed here, and made our city underground. We have a huge following," Dax said in mock pride. He laughed a little.

"So you're… the chief?" I asked, poking fun.

"Yeah, something like that," he smiled. "And you and your friends?" he asked. I realized that Simon and River had been sitting quietly, listening to Dax. They still hadn't been introduced, much less acknowledged. I felt a little bad.

"Oh," I said. I gestured towards Simon. "This is my, uh, this is Simon," I said awkwardly, "and this is his sister, River. We had some Alliance troubles."

Dax sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. He studied the Tams for several seconds.

"So these are the very famous Tams," he said finally. "I am pleased to meet you. As for your problems with the Alliance, I assure you that you will be safe with us. The Alliance doesn't even know about the Underground City." Without realizing, Simon became a little less tense and let out a sigh.

A security member walked into the room and leaned in toward Dax. I listened carefully and caught every word he said.

"You're going to want to come up to the surface. We have an unknown ship that landed on the western border. The two men that we captured claim to be friends, but they are looking for Mackenzie and the Tams. They seem very insistent upon leaving the planet with them." Dax looked over at me; his face was hard to read. I thought I saw a glimpse of worry, but I could have been mistaken. He stood rather quickly.

"Mack, Simon, River," he said, "I am afraid I have to be called away for a short time. Please feel free to walk about the city until my return." He then followed his security officer out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Simon asked me. I stood.

"He said that there was a ship that landed on the western border. The people aboard were looking for us," I said. "Let's not wait here." I walked out of Dax's house with Simon and River on my heels.

We walked through the city in silence. I went in the direction that seemed to have the most amounts of people. I led us into a tavern. I picked a table in the far corner and sat. Simon joined me, but River was content joining a few dancing people. Simon was silent for several seconds until he asked,

"Do you think the ship that landed was Alliance?"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "If Dax says the Alliance doesn't know about the Underground City, then they don't know. It is possible that the Alliance followed us here, though."

"You trust Dax a lot don't you?" he asked me, his brown eyes studying my face. I looked down for several seconds, and then replied,

"Yes. You would think that I'm not very trusting, especially since I have been betrayed by someone really…close to me. I _have_ to trust Dax. There are a lot of reasons for all of us to trust him."

I didn't mean to sound so patronizing towards the end, but things were happening so fast. I was in over my head. Soon I knew Dax and I would have some confessing to do. Simon was silent for several seconds. His eyes flicked back to River. She was still dancing, as graceful as ever. She had learned the steps to the dance with ease, and was a natural.

"Has River always been a dancer?" I asked him. He laughed quietly.

"She has always enjoyed it, and was able to learn quickly. She learns anything quickly, really," he said, smiling proudly. "I used to look like such an imbecile compared to her. She could have done anything she wanted."

"Do you know what the Alliance did to her?" I asked, hoping I wasn't prodding too far into Simon's personal life.

He shook his head. "I don't know the details. I just know that she has a hard time controlling emotions. There is much more extent to the damage, obviously. Though, I think a lot of it is emotional." I felt sorry for River. I hadn't known her before, but I could only imagine the kind of person she was.

Simon and I were sitting in silence, when a security guard came up to us. "Dax would like you to come up to the surface," he said seriously. "He says it's urgent." He turned and left. I looked over at Simon. He walked over to River, and gently took her arm. I followed behind them as they exited the tavern.

I wondered what had happened, and why Dax needed us. Obviously it wasn't Alliance; otherwise he wouldn't have called us to the surface. I hoped that it was Mal, but I didn't want to get my hopes up, just in case it wasn't.

The sun wasn't very bright here, but you could tell once you reached the surface. The little sun that did reach through the trees made your eyes water. Dax was waiting for us, his expression slightly amused, slightly worried.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"Are these yours?" he asked me. He turned to one of his companions and they brought out two men. They had burlap sacks over their heads and their hands were tied. One sack was removed, and I saw Wash's face. I had to try to contain my happiness, but he didn't contain his so well.

"Mack? Oh, thank the stars! They're not cannibals, Mal," he called to the other man, who was indeed my brother. "Oh and look! She has Simon and River with her." I laughed.

"I take responsibility for these two," I said, smiling. Dax laughed.

"I thought you might." He turned to one of the guards in the clearing and said, "You can release the rest of the crew as well." He then turned back to me; the worried expression in his eyes was prevalent. "There was an old acquaintance of ours on _Serenity,_"

"With whom we are not affiliated," my brother interjected. "He and some of his buddies were the reason Mack had to leave the ship."

The rest of the crew walked out of a tent, their feelings were varied. Jayne looked particularly annoyed. Another was brought out after him. I recognized his face at once. He hadn't changed much since I had last seen him. His wavy black hair had grown out, and become unkempt. He still had a scar under his eye from our last meeting. His clear blue eyes were glinting maliciously as he looked into my eyes.

"Hello, Mackenzie," he said, calmly. "It's been a long time." The anger welled up inside me, and before I could stop myself, I had smacked him. No one had really expected this, except maybe Dax.

"How come she gets to abuse him, for no reason, and I can't even when I'm trying to get info-" Jayne started to protest.

"Jayne," Mal said sharply. I returned my gaze to Eric Shaw. The man that I trusted, confided in, and had complicated feelings for.

"There's so much to say," Eric said. I glared at him.

"Don't waste your breath," I said, stalking off. I should have known he would be the one the Alliance would send to look for me. I walked a little deeper into the woods before I realized that someone was following me. I stopped. Mal joined my side.

"Hey," he said. "Are you alright?" He put a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face him. He was looking at me, trying to figure out what he should do. I wrapped my arms around him, and buried my face in his shoulder.

"I don't know," I said, honestly. "I don't ever want to see Eric Shaw again, but I think that keeping him alive would be wise."

"Who is he?" Mal asked

"He's the reason I was imprisoned. Dax and I thought that he was an independent, but he was working for the Alliance for the whole time. He betrayed us, I was caught, and Dax barely escaped. It's really a long story," I said. "One that I need to tell you, but I really need to tell Simon."

Mal released me and looked at me, slightly puzzled.

"Simon?" He asked. "What does your past have to do with Simon?" I looked down at the ground.

"Simon is involved in my past a whole lot more than I've been willing to admit. Do you think I could get Jayne to do me a favor while I enlighten everyone?"

Mal smiled, "If you ask him nicely."

"I need him to find out everything he can from Eric. Jayne is the only one who will be effective, I'm sure," I said. Mal laughed, and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Well, whether he's efficient or not, I think he would be the only one willing to exchange hearing about your past for torturing and interrogating someone." I smiled.

"Yeah, I suppose that is true."

We started the walk back to the tent and crew of _Serenity_. There was so much that needed to be figured out. I was a little curious as to what would happen once we had all the pieces of the past together. Once we had gotten all we could out of Shaw, I wanted to get rid of him. But mostly, I just hoped that everything would run smoothly, and there would be no problems. Looking at our luck so far, I realized that the chances that things would turn out right were very slim.


	6. Chapter 6

Dax Shrever POV

The crew of _Serenity_ had been fed, and seemed to be very forgiving about the mix-up earlier. Night had fallen and we were huddled around a fire. The silence was broken by Mackenzie.

"The past can't really be kept secret anymore," she said quietly, "especially not with someone like Eric Shaw around. I'd rather you hear this story from me, than him." Everyone present was listening intently. No one moved.

"Mal left for the war when I was very young," she began. "When the war was over, I had not seen or heard from him for six years. I thought that he was dead. It was then that I met Dax," she said, glancing over at me. "He had a ship and a crew. He just needed a linguist, and someone to use guns as a means of persuasion." She smiled a little, memories turning over in her mind. "I took the job, and we began to annoy the Alliance as much as possible. Two years later, an anonymous employer offered us a very dangerous, but well paying job. We decided to take it. The employer gave sparse details, but they were enough to get the job done.

"We had to work extremely close to the Alliance on this one. I posed as a student in one of the Alliance schools, and gained favor with key people. Our instructions were to be unnoticed. We were to help him rescue a seventeen year old girl by the name of River Tam. She was his sister." Mackenzie paused here. She waited and let the information sink in. I watched Simon closely. He appeared enlightened, like he vaguely remembered us. Like we were shadows from the past. It hadn't been all that long ago, but I wouldn't have expected him to remember us. He had his own problems.

"Eric Shaw was working with the Alliance, and letting them know everything we did. We found out too late. Eric killed the crew, I was imprisoned, and Dax barely escaped with Simon and River." Pain appeared on her face, as if she were opening wounds just speaking of Eric. Pains like betrayal were not easy to forget. She continued, however, trying to appear as though nothing were wrong.

"I don't remember much of what happened to me the next few months. I just remember a lot of pain. I was tortured daily; they were always asking me questions. Then, the torture just stopped. They ignored me. I rested for a few weeks, regaining my strength and coming up with an escape plan. I did escape, but killed the Alliance minister who was so interested in me." She stopped. There was a pregnant pause. "I'm sorry," she said, standing. "I didn't mean for things to turn out like this." She walked off. Simon stood and quickly followed her. The girl he had been sitting next to, Kaylee, looked slightly bothered by that fact, but said nothing. Mal turned to me.

"How long was she in prison?" He asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Several months," I said. His eyes had a dangerous look to them.

"And you didn't do _anything_?" he asked.

"Mal," I said, trying to calm him. "They moved her. I would have been able to get her out if I had known where she was." He stared at me intently for several more seconds.

"Thank you," he said finally, "for taking care of her." He stood, motioned for Zoe to follow, and disappeared as well. I had a feeling about Malcolm Reynolds. If he was anything like his sister, which from my observations he was, I had hopefully gained a powerful ally. Alliance retaliations were occurring, and stories were unfolding quickly. The worst was yet to come.

I stood and left the campfire. I went to go relieve Jayne of watching Eric Shaw. I didn't want to watch the son-of-a-bitch, but I didn't really trust anyone else to do so. When I approached the door, I heard voices. I had expected this; I knew that Jayne would be questioning Shaw. I didn't expect to hear Eric speaking so calmly.

"-over your head, Jayne," I heard him say. "The Alliance has heard all about you. They would be willing to pay you so much more. How much are you getting paid now?" There was silence. "Oh," said Shaw. "I see. You haven't received a pay-check in a while, have you? Just say the word, and everything can change." There were loud footsteps coming toward the door. Eric called out, "I know things about River Tam, Mackenzie Reynolds, and the _Serenity_ crew you would never guess. Side with the Alliance before your friends turn on you."

I didn't wait to hear more from Eric. I opened the door. Jayne looked up, and exited the room as I entered. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but I hope Eric hadn't gotten to him. Everyone had a weak spot, and Eric was good at finding them.

I sat across the room, as far away from Eric as possible. He looked up at me, smiling in that malevolent way of his. His lip was bleeding, and he had a few other bruises, but seemed to otherwise be unharmed.

"Tell me everything that you just told Cobb," I said. Eric began to laugh.

"When are you going to see, Dax? You're too late. You're always too late."

* * *

Mackenzie POV

I had known that telling the _Serenity_ crew my past would be hard, I just didn't expect it to be as difficult as it was. Because of me, they were being tailed by Eric Shaw. Because of me, Simon's sister was beyond help. I needed time to catch my breath. It was dark, and I could barely see the dirt path, but I kept walking. I stopped and sat at the edge of a lake, one of the few bodies of water found here. I sighed.

I had only ever wanted to help and to make things better. All that I ever seemed to do was make things worse. There was the soft crunch of footsteps behind me. It was not who I had expected. Simon sat down beside me and sighed. I could tell that this was just as uncomfortable for him as it was for me.

"I remember Dax now," he said finally. Dax was the only one of our crew that Simon had met. I swallowed hard, trying to block out all of the different emotions rolling around in my head.

"So, you knew River, then?" he asked me. I nodded.

"I knew her just before she…" my voice trailed off. I had meant to finish with 'before she was tested and experimented on.' Words just weren't coming at the moment. "Simon," I said when I found my voice again. "I am sorry." He turned so that he could face me better.

"Why are you sorry? You saved her, didn't you? You put yourself at risk for me and for her," he said softly. I sighed. Being alone with Simon wasn't a good idea. He confused me. Not in a bad way, I just couldn't think straight. I didn't want to be attracted to him this way, either. I had seen the way that he and Kaylee were. I couldn't get in the middle of that. I had had that kind of relationship once…

I looked over at him. He had been silent for several seconds now, lost in his own thoughts. He was staring at the ground, but seemed to sense that my eyes were on him. He looked up, still pensive. Instead of lost in his thoughts, he seemed to be searching my face. He looked like there was some sort of answer he would find there. I concentrated on his eyes, sitting still. To do otherwise would invite further emotional confusion on my part as well as his. There were more footsteps that broke our silence. Mal and Zoe were headed towards us, Jayne running to catch up with them. Simon and I stood quickly.

"Mack," Mal said. "Let's-"

"Is it true?" Jayne called, out of breath. He quickly covered the short distance between him and the rest of us. Mal glanced over at him.

"Is what true?" he asked. Jayne held up a finger, and took several deep breaths.

"Eric Shaw," he said, "told me that Mack knew all of these Alliance secrets. He said she's a loose cannon. Said that she knows how to heal River." There was a sinking feeling in my stomach. Simon took a couple of small steps away from me.

"Shaw is lying, right?" Mal asked me. I nodded.

"I don't remember anything from when I was imprisoned. How could I know Alliance secrets?" Shaw was a good liar, but this move was a little bold, even for him.

"What about River?" Simon asked. "You don't know anything about her?" He seemed slightly angry, like he thought I was withholding information from him.

"Simon, I swear I don't know anything Eric claims I do," I said.

"If I may interject here, I think it's about time you and I had a talk with Eric Shaw," she said, addressing Mal. "We need to find out what he's told Jayne, too." Mal nodded. He looked over at me.

"And then I want to talk about Eric's information with you," he said. I nodded, though fear was settling in my stomach. Shaw was going to do it again. He was going to rip the crew apart.


	7. Chapter 7

I waited outside the holding cell while Mal and Zoe were talking to Shaw. It seemed like hours; I kicked the dirt at my feet, tried to eavesdrop, and counted as high as I could before I got distracted. I don't know why I was so anxious. I knew that Eric Shaw was a liar; Dax knew that Shaw was a liar, and Mal was more likely to believe me than anything Shaw said. But something was bugging me bad.

Finally Mal and Zoe walked out of the room, neither of them looking pleased.

"What happened?" I asked Mal, trying to hide my hyperactive curiosity.

"He wants to see you," Mal replied. "You don't have to go in there if you don't want, in fact, I'd probably prefer if-"

"I'll be fine, Mal," I said, as I walked toward the door. I wanted- no, _needed_ to know what Shaw was saying to the others. I needed to know what he was going to say to me. Not that any of it really mattered. I just wanted to see how hard he was trying to split the crew.

The room was white, calm, and empty. Eric Shaw sat handcuffed to a chair in the middle of the room. I shut the door with a loud snap as I walked in. I paced around him for several seconds, trying to read his expression. Nothing. He seemed perfectly fine.

"What do you want, Eric?" I asked him after a couple of minutes. He sighed, still remaining very calm.

"Mackenzie Reynolds," he said. "I need to warn you." I couldn't help but laugh out loud when he said this.

"You warn _me?_ Oh, that's grand. Since when have you cared about what happens to me?" I asked him. He made no reaction, keeping his face blank and breathing even. He wouldn't even let me tear him from off subject.

"You have no idea what you are doing. You have no idea what happened to you, what role you play in the Alliance's plans, or what's coming next. Mack, if you want to make it out of this little challenge alive, I suggest you start listening to me."

"Yeah, that'll be the day," I muttered to myself. Shaw was trying to scare me. I doubt he had any idea of what he was talking about.

"I know things, Mack. I know things about you that your friends would die to know," he said. I glared at him. I walked forward, grabbing his shoulder roughly.

"It's Mackenzie, you pig. And you can't know anything Alliance related about me. I have nothing to hide. The only time I was in contact with the Alliance was when you betrayed us." Eric laughed. I resisted the urge to break his nose.

"That's because you don't remember much about anything. While you were with the Alliance, they messed with you. You're just as screwed up as River." I let go of his shoulder quickly. I studied his face. He was still calm, which made me want to hit him even more.

"That's not true. I'm perfectly fine," I said, slightly worried.

"That's what you think. That's what the Alliance wants you to think. But you and River will serve your purposes." I lunged at him again, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

"I'm gonna kill you, Eric Shaw. You worthless coward!" I yelled. He started laughing again. I slammed him against his chair. "What do you know? What did they tell you about me?" He gave me a perturbing look.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said. I kicked his chair over and stormed out of the room. I was shaking with anger. Mal rushed to my side.

"Well?" he said. I looked up at him, and tried to slow my breathing. His blue eyes were searching my face. "What happened?" he asked me.

"Shaw says I'm just as messed up as River. Says that River and I are going to do something for the Alliance. Probably something that we won't be able to control," I said, folding my arms.

"Did he tell you anything?" he asked me. I shook my head. "I didn't think so. He didn't give us much information either. Maybe we should get Simon to take a look at you?"

"I feel fine," I said. I didn't want anyone fussing over me more than necessary.

"I would feel better if you'd just let him look over you. See if he notices anything…different." As much as I hated the idea, I didn't want to worry Mal. I nodded.

"Fine," I agreed. Mal walked off to get Simon. I just kind of stood there. I didn't want to end up like River. Everyone was afraid of her. They treated her different. If they even _thought_ I was like River, they might start treating me like I would spontaneously combust, too. And I didn't understand how River and I were supposed to function together. The girl made no sense to me.

"Mack?" Simon said, interrupting my thoughts. He seemed curious and worried all at the same time. "Um, Mal said that I should probably take a look at you to see if I could find anything-"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Where to, Doc?" I asked him. Wordlessly, he led me to in infirmary. Rover was asleep in a corner. I sat in the large chair. I laid back and tried to relax. I hadn't seen a doctor in ages, but for some reason, I was really nervous.

"Everything's going to be fine," Simon comforted me, sensing my edginess.

(Simon Tam POV)

There was absolutely nothing abnormal about Mackenzie. It was the first time I'd been frustrated to have a healthy patient. I had hoped that, maybe, she did have the key to healing River. Lately, though, everything seemed to be dead ends.

I had Mackenzie sleep, and currently she was entering REM. River woke up several minutes ago, and watched me work in silence. I went and sat by her. She didn't acknowledge my presence, just stared at Mackenzie. Fluidly, River stood and walked to Mackenzie's side. She put her hand gently on top of Mackenzie's head.

"River," I warned quietly. River stood still, her hand still on Mackenzie's head, and closed her eyes. She stood there for several minutes. I expected her to say something, or to eventually move. But it wasn't River that moved. Mackenzie bolted upright. Her brain waves were still reading that she was in REM sleep. She began to talk. Her eyes fluttered. It was rather frightening. I moved toward her, unsure of what to do.

"Alliance Project 42272: River Tam," she spoke in a monotone. I stopped and listened. "Day one. Subject shows vitality, intelligence, and curiosity. She is learning far more rapidly than any of the other students. Her DNA fills all of the requirements for the procedure. After a few weeks we will begin the testing. This will give the Alliance the upper hand. Forever."

Mackenzie laid back down, and River's eyes opened. She quickly removed her hand from Mackenzie's head. She backed up quickly.

"She remembers," she said, in a quiet panicky voice. "Simon, she remembers. How can she remember and not me?"

"I don't know, _mei-mei_, but I promise I will figure this out." I walked quickly out of the infirmary. I searched frantically for Mal. I had just found something that would change our luck, and probably forever.


End file.
